Can you introduce yourself? Is there anything specific you would like people to know about you and your art?
Hello – my name is Cindy Stockton Moore, and I am a Philadelphia based artist. I create site-responsive multimedia work that engages the history, environment and poetic narrative of a landscape–with an emphasis on materiality and process involving natural pigments and aqueous media. My experimental, often collaborative, videos have been screened in festivals and exhibitions nationwide and abroad.
Some of my projects currently on view include’ ‘Other Absences’ at Eastern State Penitentiary and ‘an openness to all things lovely’ at Glen Foerd in Philadelphia. I received my MFA in Painting from Syracuse University in 2001 and my writing on art has appeared in ArtNews, NYArts Magazine, SciArt Magazine, The New York Sun, and Title Magazine in addition to university and web publications.
How did you first hear about the Art Project with PEEC/Did you attend the Art Work Group Retreat (If so, can you briefly explain the experience)?
I was grateful to attend the AWE Group Retreat – it was an incredible chance to connect with other like-minded artists and organizations from a diversity of practices and backgrounds who are committed to the health and well-being of the watershed and its denizens in the face of the climate crisis.
What stage of the project are you currently in?
We are ready to launch the first project on April 27, 2024. The natural site-specific palette has been established. We have designed and approved the take-aways for the public – seeking feedback from PEEC along the way. The takeaways are printed on 100% recycled paper ready for the upcoming event this Saturday April 27.
The project will be revealed at PEEC’s Earth Day event, can you share what attendees can expect to see/experience?
Attendees will be able to experiment with handmade artist inks and their modifiers – investigating the chemistry at work in natural color. Working on a site-specific print designed for the event by the artists, attendees can test out the colors in unique ways while learning more about the species found in and around PEEC and the geological attributes of the watershed.
What excites you about the intersection of art and the environment/why do you personally feel it’s important?
I am excited to share my love of found color with the audience– there is joy in seeing young guests play with color in a free and experimental way, and it is equally engaging for me to talk in depth about my research in sustainable natural color extraction with adults from a variety of backgrounds. I always gain new insight into my practice through these events. For me, it’s an important way to connect an audience to a site through shared activity; the tactile experiments done side-by-side encourage larger conversations about environmental awareness.
What do you hope people get out of the project/what do you hope to personally achieve?
I hope that people enjoy working with natural color – and start to see nature as a potential collaborator. I hope that the experience of painting with species from the area allows them to recognize the plants and develop an appreciation for native species and biodiversity. I hope to connect with the audience and build programs such as this into a more prolonged engagement with a site and its community.
Are you currently working on any other projects/do you have a website you would like to promote?
I am working on a number of projects this Spring.
In May, I will debut a new video and textile project in the exhibition ‘Soil Dialogues’ at Il Conventino, Spazio Laboratorio, in Florence, Italy. The video–which was created in collaboration with John Heinz National Refuge and the ecospace arts group– will also be presented at the ‘Centennial Celebration and Congress of the International Union of Soil Sciences in Florence.
I am busy preparing for my solo exhibition entitled Pillars of Motionless Time at Chimaera Gallery in Philadelphia PA. The exhibition opens May 10 and features still paintings and animated videos that explore overlapping ideas of screening– as scientific filter, visual device and temporal recording– through natural color and slow observation.
Opening reception: Friday, May 10, 2024 6-8:30pm. Show runs through June 29, 2024
As a visiting artist with Mural Arts, I am completing a collaboration with Southwark School, creating a series of three public billboards that explore our experiments with natural dyes over the past year. They will debut in early June 2024.
For more about the artist, click here.